The Raven and the Fox
by DeisuiNeko
Summary: The war has been over for a while and Hinata has grown tired of how Naruto still only treats her like a friend, but talks and flirts with every fan girl that walks right up to him, even when they are having lunch together. Tonight she is going to approach him in disguise and see what it is like to be treated like one of his fangirls. Slightly OOC Hinata


**A/N: This is a one-shot I wrote some time back for good friend we had been chatting and the idea for this story came out of a 'wouldn't it be funny if…' conversation. So I wrote this for her as a birthday present. I hope you like the story Crimson Rose.**

**Hinata will be a little OOC for this story, but it takes place after the war so who knows this just might be what she does to get his attention anyways.**

**Disclaimer: I do not know the rights to Naruto in any way.**

Now that her clothing had been swapped and her normal attire securely stored in a scroll, her hands began to shake with uncertainty. She had been planning for tonight for weeks and it was finally here, but could she find the courage to step out of the bathroom stall and look at her transformation? She had tried so many times to once again tell him how she felt, but her courage failed her each time as she looked into his crystal blues eyes. She knew that she could not deal with being seen as only a friend any longer. She wanted more, no she needed more from him.

They spend time together nearly every day and he treats her so nicely and respectfully as a friend, but she wants to be more than just his friend. She has watched as other girls come up to talk with him and tease him which he returns. She would just stand nearby and wait respectfully quiet till the exchange was over and then the roguish smile would fade to something gentler and they would resume whatever they had been doing before the girl had rudely interrupted. She wanted that roguish smile to be directed at her for once and not ever at another woman again.

That was why she had planned for tonight. For just tonight Hyuga Hinata would be staying at home forced to work on clan business and miss this year's Tanabata festival. Tonight she would walk the streets as Raven.

Hinata stepped out of the stall and looked into the strangers face looking back from the mirror. She had spent weeks perfecting the henge she now used to disguise herself. The young woman who looked back had slightly curly dark red hair, almost the color of blood, that nearly reached her shoulders. Her skin was a golden brown and the eyes were no longer pale lavender, but a smoky grey with a hint of blue. She turned in front of the mirror and checked her black dress that ended about mid-calf and had a slit up the left side all the way up to her mid-thigh. Her figure was a little less voluptuous and more athletic than her normal body since he did seem to pay more attention to certain girls that were not as curvy as her own figure. The completion of her outfit was a hooded black cloak and half-raven's mask that left her mouth uncovered.

It was the mask part that made her choose the Tanabata festival. It was on this night, the seventh night of the seventh month, that the two lovers who are separated by the Milky Way in the night's sky are allowed to spend one night together. On this night the people of the Leaf Village wear masks as part of the celebration.

Hinata pulls up the hood till only the mask can be seen and heads out into the streets in search of the only person she has ever truly loved. Tonight she will become someone else, someone more confident, someone not timid, someone not shy, but someone almost sensual. 'If teasing is what Naruto-kun enjoys then that is exactly what he will get tonight.'

She had told the guards on duty to tell any visitors that she was busy tonight and would not be taking any visitors and then had snuck out of the compound till she had reached a public restroom and quickly changed. Just before she had engaged the henge she had used her byakugan and found Naruto's current location.

She found him not too far away from that spot watching some street performers do their juggling act. He was standing there in a bright orange outfit not too different from his everyday outfit and wearing a fox mask. Just as the act was finishing she saw him begin to move on and placed herself in his path so that they would gently collide.

BUMP!

Naruto turned to apologize and his mouth just refused to work as he looked at the girl standing beside him. He looked at her as if he recognized her for a moment, but as his gaze raked over her face he became unsure. She smirked at his confusion which seemed to unnerve him somewhat. "I am sorry miss, I should have paid better attention of where I was going."

Hinata placed her hand on his arm, just over the bicep like she had wanted to do so many times, using only the tips of her dark red painted fingernails. "That's okay." She intensified the smirk and let her fingernails trail down his arm to his elbow before breaking contact.

She then turned to walk away, but was stopped as a strong hand grabbed her arm just above the elbow. She looked back at him and then down at the offending hand. At seeing this he quickly released his grasp and bowed. "My apologies I did not mean to grab you so roughly. I..." He stammered as she just stared at him, her lips set in a firm, unamused line.

"Yes?" She said with just a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I didn't get your name." He said with a nervous scratch of the head.

"You didn't ask." She turned to face him fully. 'I have never seen Naruto-kun so nervous in his life.' Hinata had to control herself or she might lose focus of the henge and reveal who she truly was.

"I guess you are right." Naruto gave a nervous chuckle. "So what is your name?"

"Shouldn't a gentleman introduce himself first before asking a lady her name?" Hinata turned her head slightly away as if insulted. "Or are you not a gentleman?" She began to turn away as if he was not worth her time."

"Wait!" His voice came out in an almost panicked tone. "My name is Nar..." He shook himself and seemed to regain some of his composure. "Fox, you may call me Fox." He gave a proud pose at his pronouncement.

Hinata turned and gave him another mischievous smirk. "Fox, you may call me Raven."

It was at that moment two girls from the village approached Naruto and began talking to him. It was not hard for anyone to recognize him really between the bright orange clothing and blonde hair that shined like the sun on a summer's day, sticking out the back of the mask. As he always did, he was polite to anyone who came up to talk to him, but unlike all those times when she, as Hinata, would stand there and wait patiently, Raven turned and walked away.

A few moments later she was rewarded as she heard him curse. "Damn, where did Raven go?" She then heard the young girls reply in confusion and then sadness as he just walked away from them.

"Raven, wait, where are you going?" She could hear his voice and then the sound of hurried footsteps. 'I can't believe it, Naruto-kun is chasing after me, but it is too soon for him to catch the Raven.' She quickly turned a corner into an alley and then used chakra to run quickly down to the far end and over the wall when the alley dead ended. She didn't stop there on the other side of the wall, but kept going till she was sure that she had lost him and stepped into the shadows of another alley.

When she finally stopped she had to rest for a moment, maintaining the henge and the sudden burst of speed left her feeling a little drained. Once she had rested for a bit she took a chance and activated her byakugan to see if she could spy Naruto anywhere. She giggled as she saw not only Naruto but another half dozen shadow clones moving about the village as if looking for something, or someone. Hinata hugged herself at the warm feeling that she felt at knowing that he was chasing after her for a change.

Once she was sure Naruto and his shadow clones were not going to see her she made her way to the carnival that had been setup for the festival. Once inside she made her way to the line for the ferris wheel and waited patiently to be discovered. It was almost her turn to get aboard when he came out of the crowd and stood beside her.

"Hey, wait your turn." Said an irritated voice from the couple behind her.

"It's okay, Raven was saving my spot while I went to the bathroom." He turned and looked at her with a hopeful grin. "Right?" His eyes grew wide as she cocked her head and did not smile back.

His shoulders slumped as she said nothing and stepped aboard the ferris wheel car. He made no move just stood there like he had been slapped. Just as he was about to turn away her heart could not take it anymore. "Are you coming, Fox?"

He turned and gave her a huge grin as he climbed aboard and sat down beside her. "Thanks, for a minute there I thought you were going to give me the brush off."

She turned her head slightly away, mainly to hide the smile that was trying to force itself upon her lips. "You would have deserved it for lying like that, I don't recall ever being asked to save you a spot, or for that matter ever inviting you to join me on the ferris wheel."

"You didn't give me a chance." He began to protest.

"Huh, you seemed to be quiet distracted with your little girlfriends." She looked over at him sternly. "I am sure one of them, or both if you are into that sort of thing, would have been more than happy to ride with you tonight."

"They are just friends. They just wanted to wish me a happy festival, that's all. I don't have any interest in them, other than friends." Naruto shrugs and begins to fidget with his fingers.

"So, why are you up here with me? We are not friends, or do you only ride on ferris wheels with strangers?" She slides a little away from him as if she fears that he might be some sort of pervert.

He turns to look at her so quickly the whole car begins to rock back and forth. "No wait, you are getting the wrong idea. This might sound weird…"

"Weirder than jumping onto a ride with a complete stranger, this I have to hear." She rewards Naruto with another smirk.

"Uh, yeah." Naruto chuckles nervously. "The moment you touched my arm I felt like I knew you, but I know I would have remembered meeting someone like you before. Maybe if I saw your face I could remember… so…"

"What? Are you asking me to unmask?" She sits up stiffly as if she was completely insulted. "You know that it is bad luck to unmask before midnight. Besides if you can't figure it out, then it's your bad luck."

He points a finger at her victoriously. "Ha, so I do know you?"

She just gives him a smile this time. "Perhaps…" She gently licks her lips. "Or perhaps, it is just I that know you, Fox." She says that last word in a husky voice that sends a shiver down her own spine and it seems that it was having a similar effect upon Naruto. She watches as his breathing seems to quicken a little and he begins to lick his lips nervously.

"Raven, would you like to do something together after the ride is over?"

"Something, Fox?" She could not believe how nervous he was acting just now. He was completely unlike that over confident boy she had known most of her life. She felt so powerful at the moment that she could make him do almost anything she asked. She liked this feeling and wanted more.

"Yeah, we could go for a walk and I could show you some of my favorite places to go, or we could check out more of the festival or I could win a prize in the carnival." He turned suddenly excited. "Are you hungry? We could go get some ramen at Ichiraku's"

"Ramen, I don't think I have ever eaten ramen before. Is it any good?" She knew she should not have asked the question, but she could not help herself. She wanted to see that happy smile he always made when it was time to go eat ramen.

"You have never eaten ramen?" Naruto's voice sounded so shocked. "Well, you have come to the right place. The Leaf Village has the best ramen that I have ever eaten. It is at a place called Ichiraku's and boy you are in for a treat."

"I didn't say I was hungry." She felt a little bad as his body jerked when he heard her statement.

"Oh, sorry." He looked down a little dejected. Now Hinata really felt bad, she had not seen him so dejected even after Sakura had told him no for a date. "So, would you like to do something with me after the ride is over?" His voice now sounded less confident and shyer than she could have ever imagined him sounding.

Their car had stopped at the top by now and he began to point out different locations in the village. She had to smile as he pointed out the Hokage's tower and told her that one day it would be him sitting inside that office.

Their ride was finally over and he stepped out and held out his hand to offer support as she got out. Hinata felt a shiver run through her body as their flesh made contact and had to fight hard to not faint. In her nervousness she had gripped a little firmer than she had intended, but the excited smile he gave her when she did was an unexpected reward. What she did not expect either was that once she had excited the car he did not let go of her hand.

Hinata looks down at her hand and then up at him as if asking for her hand back. She feels her heart flutter as he just smiles and tightens his grip ever so gently. 'I can't believe that Naruto-kun is finally holding my hand.' It took more self-control not to start crying happily and wrapping herself around his arm than it did to keep from fainting.

"Hey, would you like to go to the top of the Hokage monument?" The sound of his voice brought her mind back to focus and she could relive this happy moment when she got home tonight. "I like to go up there sometimes and stand at the part of the cliff where my statue will be and imagine what it will be like to be there looking over the village for generations to come." His smile fades as she shakes her head.

"No, that looks like a place where boys like to take girls to be alone. I don't think that I know you well enough for us to be alone, not yet anyways." She outwardly smiles, but inwardly feels bad, as she watched him desperately try to think of something else for them to do together. "I am starting to feel a little hungry now. Why don't you show me this ramen you were so happily telling me about earlier."

She could not stop the giggle his big smile caused as she asked to go and eat ramen. 'He is so adorable when he smiles like that, and all I want is to make him smile like that every moment of every day.'

As she was being nearly dragged down the streets she was amazed just how easy it was to manipulate Naruto by acting this way. 'Is this how Sakura was able to keep him coming around so much by acting like she didn't care and therefore making him care even more instead?' She felt a little angry as she began to wonder if Sakura had been doing this on purpose to him, or if this is just the way all boys act. 'I need to talk to Ino about this somehow and see if she has any insight.'

When they reach Ichiraku's Naruto pulls out a seat for her and waits till she sits down before taking the seat next to her. It was their usual seats when they ate at Ichiraku's as Naruto and Hinata, to be precise.

"Hi Na... I mean Fox, Hi… uhh, who is you friend?" Ayame asked curiously and gives Hinata a slight glare.

"This is Raven. I sort of bumped into her at the festival and offered to buy her some ramen as an apology. You won't believe it, but she says that she has never had ramen before so I had to bring her here for ramen. You might as well eat the best when you eat something for the first time."

Ayame looks like she was about to say something when her father stops her with a glare and steps up to the counter with a smile. "Quiet right my boy. So how about a couple of pork miso ramens for the two of you tonight?"

Afraid that Naruto might start asking question about who she was Hinata distracted him by getting him to tell her what his favorite ramen preparations, while they waited on their food. He was still talking about ramen when Ayame put the steaming bowls down in front of them and then starts staring at Hinata again.

As she picks up her chopsticks Hinata notices that Naruto was watching her, waiting to see if she likes the ramen. As she took her first bite she had to control herself from letting out a satisfied sigh. Since they had been having meals together so much recently she had grown to enjoy the flavor of ramen, maybe it was because he loved it so much and she loves him.

"So, what do you think?" Naruto asks with barely contained excitement.

The real Hinata wants to say how much she loves the flavor and texture, but Raven would never give him such satisfaction. "Hmmm, interesting, but do you actually eat this all the time?" Naruto seems to have missed the bitchy question, but Ayame didn't and she is now glaring daggers at Hinata and begins to twist the towel in her hands. 'Ohh, this is what being bitchy feels like? I should be ashamed, but this is kind of fun. No wonder some of the girls act like this, but I promise I will make it up to Ayame somehow. Nobody deserves to be treated like I am acting.'

Naruto just smiles happily. "Yeah, pretty much. I try to come here as often as I can afford to eat out. You see as a kid Teuchi was one of the only people who would even serve me food and over time this place became like a home." Naruto looks up over at Teuchi with a grateful smile and the man returns the smile but quickly turns away rubbing his eye and mutters "Damn onions".

Hinata had to look down into the bowl and eat like she didn't care to hide the fact that she was wanting so badly to start crying and thank them for being so nice to Naruto all his life. As she was eating Hinata noticed that Naruto was not eating with his usual gusto, but was eating deliberately slow. 'Is he trying to eat like a gentleman to impress me, no not me, Raven is he trying to impress Raven?'

When she was nearly done eating Naruto turned to look at her with one of his big, warm smiles. "I have not seen you around her before. Did you come into the village recently?"

'Oh no, I was afraid he was going to start asking questions like this. I just need to follow the story I made up and everything will be fine.' She lays down her chopsticks and looks at him with a calmer expression than she was feeling inside. "Yes, I happened to arrive this morning on my way to the Land of Earth and found out as I entered that there was a festival tonight, so I bought a mask and walked around till you bumped into me on the street."

"So are you staying in the village very long, Raven?" His voice sounded almost hopeful as he asked the question.

'Why is he asking me this, is he wanting to see more of me, no I mean Raven?' Hinata just shakes her head while trying not to look heartbroken. She was so happy now that she had also added the mask along with the henge because she was sure without it to hide behind he would have easily been able to see that she was upset by his question. "No, I have to be in the Land of Earth soon and will not stay long in the village, but I do come through the village from time-to-time."

Naruto looks at her sadly. "I see, I understand about needing to keep your obligations." He suddenly smiles and places a hand on top of her own. "Since tonight might be the last time I see you again for a while how about we go up to the Hokage Monument and get to know each other better." The roguish smirk on his face leaves no doubt at what he is suggesting.

Hinata felt her face go red hot, not from embarrassment, but from anger. Only once in her life had she ever slapped him, but that was to help him out of his shock. She was feeling such a tide of anger flowing through her at the moment that all she wanted to do was slap him as hard as she could with her gentle fist attack. 'No wonder Sakura-san has hit him so many times. If this is how he has acted towards her then I forgive her for every time she hit him. Is this all it takes for a girl to get his attention? I have been by his side all this time waiting for him to notice me and all I had to do was act like this towards him. Could I have lost him to anyone who acted like this so easily, do I mean so little to him?' She pulled her arm away and glared at him. "What did you just ask me?" Hinata glances over and could see Ayame give a similar glare of anger directed towards Naruto.

Naruto held up his hands defensively. "Wait, I think that you have misunderstood me Raven. You said that we could not take off our masks until midnight, so I thought we could just go up there and look up at the stars and talk till it was time to unmask. I wasn't meaning for us to... you know."

Hinata had been watching him most of their lives and knew when he was not telling the whole truth. He was telling the truth about wanting to sit and talk, but he was not completely telling the truth about not wanting to do more.

It was as she was gaining control of her emotions that she notices just how low her chakra reserves were getting. 'There is just no way I can make it till after midnight. I am going to have to leave soon or he will know the truth and even though I am furious with him, I do not what him to know I was playing a trick. He might get mad at me and not talk to me again.'

Hinata dabs the corner of her mouth and then lays down her napkin. "Okay, but first I need to powder my nose." She gives him a smile as he rises and holds out a hand to help her out of her seat.

He gives her a big smile as she starts to walk away. "Okay, I'll pay for our food and wait for you outside."

Hinata walks down the street calmly until she is sure that she is out of sight before picking up her pace. When she gets near the Hyuga compound she releases the henge and heads inside. She barely talks to anyone she passes along the way and once in her room she collapses on her bed, mostly from near chakra exhaustion but also from the whirlwind of emotions she is now feeling. She had gotten Naruto's attention like she had always dreamed, but she had to act like somebody else and treat him terrible to get that response. 'Does he even really like me at all, or does he just tolerate me being around like he does everyone else?' Hinata didn't even change her clothes, she just curled up into a ball and cried that even after all this time he still didn't find her attractive.

She stayed in bed till it was nearly time for them to have their usual lunch together. 'I'll never call it a lunch date ever again and after today I am not sure if I will have lunch with him again.' The servants seeing their normally quiet ray of sunshine walk around like a cloudy day gave her a wide berth and only bowed politely as she made her way out of the compound.

As Ichiraku's came into sight she calmed her nerves and told herself that no matter what that she would not cry. When she went inside she was surprised so see Naruto sitting in his usual seat stirring his ramen, his head bowed sadly as if something terrible had happened. "Naruto-kun?"

He turned and gave her a smile that did not touch his eyes. "Hi Hinata, I was wondering if you were going to come, or if your clan business would keep you away." He turned back to his bowl of ramen and stirred the noodles without eating.

Hinata was worried that it might be all her fault that he is acting this way. 'Did I take it too far? Did I... did I make him fall in love with Raven?' She sat down beside him and ordered her usual and noticed that Ayame was looking uncertain at the two of them. "Can you tell me what is wrong?"

Naruto just shrugs at first. "I guess. I met somebody last night, a girl."

Hinata was terrified to ask the next obvious question. "A girl, was she nice? Do you want to tell me about her?"

He turns and looks at her with a confused look on his face. "I don't know what to say Hinata. I bumped into her by accident and there was something about her that I just couldn't figure out. She was wearing this raven mask, and I was wearing a fox mask, so I could not see much of her face, but she had the coolest smile." Naruto put his chin in his hand as he daydreams a little about last night.

'He... he liked the way I smiled.' She thought happily till she realized, 'No, he liked the way Raven smiled.' Hinata had to look away, because seeing him look like that while thinking of someone else, even if in reality it was her in disguise, was too hard.

"She walked away when I stopped to talk with some other girls and I had a hard time finding her until one of my clones saw her at the ferris wheel." He shook his head in confusion.

"You went looking for her with clones?" Even though she already knew that information she did her best to play ignorant while looking sadly into her own ramen.

"Yeah, it's a big village and for some reason I needed to talk with her some more, and..."

CHOP

Both of them looked up startled as Ayame came down hard with a knife on some vegetables she was slicing. She gave Naruto a hard look for a moment before blushing and looking back down to her work.

"We rode the ferris wheel and at first I didn't think she was going to let me ride with her, but at the last moment I guess she changed her mind. Now that I think about it I bet she was going to let me ride with her the whole time and was just teasing." Naruto scratches his head thoughtfully while looking back down into his ramen.

"She was... teasing you?" After seeing him nod she asked, "Did... did you mind... the teasing?"

He pauses for a moment and contemplates her question. "Yes she was, other people have teased me before, but for some reason having her tease me was interesting." He then gives a happy smile that makes the corner of his eyes crinkle.

"Afterwards we came here and had ramen. She said it was her first time and I think she really liked the ramen, but who would not like ramen?" Naruto lets out a big sigh that sounded so sad. "But she left to go powder her nose, whatever that means, and never came back."

"Is... is that why you... you are so sad?" Hinata's heart was breaking at this point. She had made Naruto fall in love with someone else, even if that someone else was her, But it wasn't her, it was someone she was pretending to be, so that means... that means he really doesn't love me... and probably never will. 'He wants something other than what I have to offer.'

"Yeah, I waited for her for a long time and then sent shadow clones looking for her, but I never did find her again." He let out an even longer sigh. "I wanted to ask her something."

Hinata looked up and could see that Ayame was looking at her as heartbroken as she was feeling inside. She couldn't take it anymore, she needed to be somewhere, anywhere else but here while he kept talking about the girl he met last night. She was sure that if he said anything about falling in love with Raven that she might just die right there in front of Naruto.

As she stood his head turned and she felt herself become rooted to the spot by those wonderfully blue eyes.

Naruto's eyebrows rise in a pleading gesture. "I wanted to ask you if I could give you a kiss Raven?"

"What?" Her whole body suddenly began to tremble as if she had been struck by lightning. "What... did... did you just... just say... to me...Naruto-kun?" Hinata's hands came up and covered her mouth in disbelief that he could have possibly asked her for a kiss.

Naruto smiles roguishly as he stands and places both of his hands on her arms. "I wanted to ask you if I could give you a kiss Raven?"

Hinata pulled her hands away from her mouth just enough for him to see her silently mouth 'Me?' She felt a rush of elation as he nodded. 'He knew. Naruto knew, and was flirting with me the whole time. He... he... wants to... to kiss... ME.' It was after that realization that everything went dark.

Naruto caught her and held her gently after she fainted. He looked down at her soft pale face and smiled. "I was afraid that this might happen."

"You knew?" Ayame yells from across the counter. "You knew the whole damn time?" She looked like she was trying to decide whether to jump over the counter and hug him or throw a knife at him for making her so worried.

Naruto gives Ayame a big smile. "I wasn't sure at first, but after she touched my arm I knew that chakra was familiar, even disguised. I thought it was her, but she was not acting like Hinata, so I chased after her to make sure and when I took ahold of her arm I knew for a fact that it was her behind that mask. So I played along to see what she was up to and not ruin whatever surprise she had planned." He picks Hinata up in his arms. "Hey old man, can I pay for the ramen later? My hands are kind of full right now?"

Teuchi just gives him a wave and turns away. Ayame watches them leave with her hands clasped over her heart. "I think I am going to cry." Ayame says and then asks her father as she turns around, "Father, are you crying?"

All Teuchi would say as he wiped the corner of his eyes was "damn onions' while he was happily slicing away at some ham.

Naruto carried Hinata to the shade tree near the academy and waited for her to wake up. A little later as she began to stir he looked down with a smile as she seem to almost nuzzle her face into his shirt before sitting up in a daze.

"Good morning, Raven." He says with a smile.

Hinata covers her mouth with her hands. "That wasn't a dream?" She watches as he shakes his head and then turns her back on him. "You knew the whole time while flirted with Raven?" She asks with a little anger in her voice.

"Yup!" Naruto puts his hands on her shoulders and smiles as she shrugs him off. "To be honest I didn't know the whole time, but by the time we were on the ferris wheel I was positive."

"Do you have any idea how my heart was breaking while you talked about that girl?" Hinata crosses her arms over her chest.

"But..." he tries to say.

"Don't but me. I came to Ichiraku's planning on telling you off and then you go and do something like this to me."

"I did to you, but you were the one trying to trick me Hinata."

"Don't you try and blame me for this. If you had been paying attention more to me the whole time I would not have done this, Naruto-kun." She turns to give him an unhappy glare, but her heart begins to melt as soon as she sees him smiling.

"Hey, I have tried, but each time I get close you faint or nervously slip away." He caresses her cheek softly. "I thought that if we kept hanging out that you would slowly get over being shy around me and then I could ask you out on a date without you fainting before I got an answer."

"Is... is that true Naruto-kun" She asks not daring to hope that all this time that he had been spending time with her and giving her that gentle smile was so she could grow used to being around him. 'I guess it worked, because a year ago I would not have thought of doing something like pretending to be someone else and I didn't even stutter one time last night while talking to him.'

Naruto leans in and plants a gentle kiss on her cheek." Believe it, Hinata-chan. I want us to be together and I am willing to wait till you are ready, because I don't plan on going anywhere." He gives her that mischievous smirk that he gave her last night. "At least not alone."

Slowly she wraps her arms around him and begins to cry happy tears as he returns the hug. They just sit there under the shade tree for while lost in the moment as Hinata reflects on how amazed she is that she is in his arms without any hint of fainting. 'Maybe some part of Raven didn't go away when I took the mask off last night, or was she always there in the shadows just waiting to help me when the time was right?'

Naruto whispers in her ear. "So where do you want to go for our second date?"

Hinata turns and places her forehead on his as they stare deeply into each other's eyes. "Somebody told me recently that Ichiraku's has the best ramen in town. Would you like to have dinner together and afterwards maybe we can take a walk up to the Hokage Monument?"


End file.
